


all i want for christmas is you (to meet my family)

by backspace_gravity



Series: Dani/Grace prompts [2]
Category: Terminator (Movies), Terminator - All Media Types, Terminator: Dark Fate
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, No Angst, also there's no apocalypse in this, grace is just a humble carpenter, i wish this had smut but i don't know how to write it so
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 02:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21889561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backspace_gravity/pseuds/backspace_gravity
Summary: dani brings grace along for her family's annual noche buena (christmas eve) celebration aka a dani/grace holiday AU
Relationships: Grace & Dani Ramos, Grace/Dani Ramos
Series: Dani/Grace prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1571986
Comments: 8
Kudos: 85





	all i want for christmas is you (to meet my family)

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: i am not mexican/latinx so whatever i write in this fic is based on my own research (my sincere apologies for any inaccuracies!)

The Christmas season, to most, is a time of joy and celebration with loved ones. It is a time when families come together and couples fall in love; a time when songs about sleighs and reindeer and beautiful, white snow fill the air; a time for bright lights, good food, and of course, a time for gifts.

But as fun and magical as the holidays may be, all they are to Grace is a major fucking pain in her ass. Well, a pain in her hands and arms, to be precise. She has been sawing wood non-stop at practically inhuman speeds since she got the call from her client rushing her to get his baby’s crib done in time for Christmas.

She’s sweaty, covered in sawdust, aching, and overall just plain exhausted from working overtime to build this goddamned crib. Grace almost regrets suggesting to the man and his wife that they go for a special oval wooden crib instead of a boring, regular one. But what can she say? She’s an artist at heart and she likes to push her imagination.

Well, the joke’s clearly on her now. It’s nearing 7 pm and she’s _still_ at the workshop.

Grace is so preoccupied with her sawing that she doesn’t hear the ringing of an incoming call. She’s only aware of it when it goes to voicemail and her uncle’s pre-recorded message in his thick accent starts to play.

_-_ _Hello. You have reached Carl’s Wood, where your dreams are built_ _because we_ wood _never let you down_ _. Please_ leaf _us_ _a message after the_ _tone_ _and we will get_ bark _to you soon._ _-_

Ugh. She can’t help but cringe a little every time she hears his god-awful puns.

_*beep*_

“Hey, Grace! It’s Dani.”

The familiar sound of her girlfriend’s voice instantly puts a smile on Grace’s face.

“I know you said the office phone is for business purposes only, but I did call your mobile first. I actually called many, many, _many_ times but you didn’t pick up, which I’m guessing means that you’re busy with work and not that you’re ignoring your drop-dead gorgeous girlfriend.”

A laugh bubbles up out of Grace. Technically, she could just pick up Dani’s call now…ooooor she could listen a little longer to this amusing voicemail and see where it goes. Yeah, option 2 sounds much more fun.

“Anyway, I’m calling because I thought maybe we could have dinner at my place tonight? I cooked your favorites, pozole and shrimp enchiladas, and mmm…the smell! Oh, if only you were here to smell it. It's _heavenly_."

In Grace's mind, she's already picturing herself enjoying a bowl of the comforting, hot soup accompanied with cheesy shrimp-filled tortillas, but before Dani gets a chance to describe the aromas in detail, Grace lunges for the phone.

"Dani, hi! So, what's that you were saying about dinner?"

"Hi to you too, Grace. Nice of you to finally pick up the phone as soon as I mention food," Dani teases.

Grace feels a slight twinge of guilt. "Yeah, sorry about that. A client was being super pushy about a project so I've been up since 6 am sawing away and now I think my arms are starting to go numb," Grace explains apologetically.

Dani groans. "Ugh, I hate when clients do that." In a softer voice, she suggests, "Why don't you call it a day? You're clearly too tired to go on and I'm sure you're starving."

Grace's stomach has possibly the best or worst timing ever because it growls at that exact moment. She blushes, internally scolding her stomach for not being more disciplined.

Dani chuckles. "See? I know you're hungry, Grace. Come on, the food is going to get colder the longer you're at the workshop."

Ideally, Grace would just keep working until she's finished the crib, but her love for her girlfriend is stronger than her desire to make her client happy, so she caves in. "Yeah, okay, sure. But I have to stop by my apartment first for a quick shower, then I'll meet you at yours?"

"Or…you could get cleaned up at mine? I know you like my bathtub."

Grace smiles wryly. "Well, I did build it, so…"

"Just come over already, please? I miss you," Dani admits somewhat shyly.

Grace's heart grows warm; she could never get tired of hearing Dani say that. "You had me at pozole."

\---

_*rinnnggg*_

A muffled "It's not locked!" comes from the inside of Dani's apartment. Sure enough, when Grace tries the door, it opens easily, and she lets herself in.

As soon as Grace enters the small apartment, she catches a good, strong whiff of the dinner that awaits her and oh god, Dani was right, it IS heavenly. And sooo much better in real life than it sounds over the phone.

The blonde looks around but doesn't see her girlfriend anywhere, prompting her to call out, "Babe, where are you? This food smells ridiculously good. Like on-another-plane-of-existence good."

"In here!"

Grace follows the muffled reply to the bathroom, and pushes the slightly ajar door to reveal Dani with her hair tied up in a bun and enjoying what appears to be a very relaxing bubble bath.

The brunette's face lights up when she sees Grace. "You made it!" She grabs Grace's wrist and tries to pull her into the tub.

"Whoa, Dani! What are you doing?!"

"Trying to get you in here with me, obviously. How else are you going to get clean?" Dani says, like it's the most logical thing in the world.

"Dani, I love your enthusiasm but have you _seen_ me?" Grace gestures to herself, laughing. "I am so not going to fit in there!"

"Sure you can! Look, I will stay all the way over here," Dani says, sticking close to one end of the tub, "and you can just squish yourself in over there." She leaves some room for where Grace is supposed to go. Seeing the doubt on Grace's face, Dani reaches again for the blonde's wrist, her fingers lightly tracing it this time. "Come on, Grace. I'll even give you a massage," Dani offers, biting her lip ever so slightly.

_Fuck._

Dani is getting way too good at convincing Grace to do just about anything. She finally relents, pulling her sweat-soaked white cotton T-shirt over her head and undoing her leather belt, letting her brown khakis pool on the floor. She kicks her dirty clothes to the side and carefully steps into the bathtub, one limb at a time.

The soapy water sloshes about quite a bit but Grace eventually manages to fit her entire five-ten frame in the wooden tub, which is honestly nothing short of miraculous. With two of them in it now, Grace and Dani are suddenly and acutely aware of the closeness of their bodies are and how little the space is that lies between them.

Dani smiles softly at Grace. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For always doing the shit I want to do," Dani says, leaning in to give Grace an appreciative kiss. Grace whispers, "You're welcome" before kissing Dani back. The two exchange a few soft and slow kisses, neither woman wanting to rush this. They kiss almost lazily, finding pleasure in the simple movements of their lips sliding against one another.

The feeling of Grace's slightly rough hands running along the inside of Dani's thighs is slowly, but surely, driving Dani out of her mind until she can't help but slip out a low, needy moan. Taking this as an invitation to continue, Grace's right hand inches up smooth, tan skin until Dani stops her. She pulls apart from their kiss, her eyes hooded. "Grace, if your hand goes up any higher, we'll never make it to dinner," Dani rasps. Without missing a beat, Grace responds, "Maybe I'm not hungry for dinner right now."

Dani laughs at how Grace has such a one-track mind sometimes. "Grace, I'm serious!"

"So am I!" Grace says, starting to laugh as well.

"Well, too bad, Grace, because I spent HOURS cooking this dinner and one way or another, I'm going to eat it. Now, turn around so I can massage you."

After several moments of cursing and struggling about in the tub, Grace has her back to Dani. The brunette places her hands on the base of Grace's neck, and right away she feels the tension and tightness in the muscles there. Dani massages Grace's neck with light, long strokes, careful not to put too much pressure.

"So, how was work? Besides the asshole client, of course," Dani asks, making conversation to pass the time.

Grace groans. "Ugh, that client was the reason I could only work on HIS project the entire fucking day. He called me at the ass crack of dawn, _begging_ me to finish the crib as soon as possible because he wanted to have it specially painted by some artist from a tiny Italian village or something. Would NOT hang up until I agreed."

Dani pauses her massage to make a face. "Rich gringos are the worst."

"They really fucking are," Grace agrees with a defeated sigh. "What about you? What'd you do today? Besides making us an exquisite meal, of course," Grace directs at Dani, echoing her girlfriend's words a moment ago.

"Since it was my day off, I mostly got my chores done. I did the laundry, got groceries, cleaned, took out the trash, and clearly, I spent quite a bit of time on that pozole," Dani shares as she firmly kneads her thumbs into the hard knots in Grace's neck and shoulders.

When Dani uses her knuckles to work some particularly tight muscles, the relief that comes feels so ridiculously good. "Ohhh…right there, Dani. Fuck, you're so fucking good at this." The brunette smirks before placing feather-light kisses all along Grace's upper back. "I know."

The brunette continues her soothing massage for a while longer until she's confident that Grace is sufficiently relaxed and unwound from the day's labor. Once again facing Dani, Grace thanks her. Her expression is peaceful as she leans back in the tub, enjoying the water around her. "That was…amazing. _You_ were amazing. I feel…so much better now. Lighter, almost."

Dani smiles widely and starts to get excited. "I'm so happy to hear you say that, Grace. I wanted to make sure you were feeling good before I-" Dani stops herself, suddenly a little nervous about continuing.

"Before you what?"

"Before I ask if you'd like to spend Christmas Eve with me and my family," Dani finally says, a hopeful look on her face.

"I…"

"I mean, you've already met papá and Diego and since that went so well, you could maybe…meet the rest of my family?"

"Dani, I…" Grace starts, but Dani takes the blonde's hesitation as her not liking the idea and quickly adds, "If you're not comfortable, that's okay!" She adopts a softer tone, "I know I tease you for always doing what I want to do but Grace, please don't feel like you have to say yes."

Grace reaches under the water for Dani's hand and brings it up to her lips, kissing the back of it tenderly. Looking into her girlfriend's eyes, she says, "Dani, I would _love_ to be with you on Christmas Eve."

"You would? Really?" Dani asks just to check, a smile already forming on her face.

"Your family may or may not hate me, and god knows I suck at socializing," Grace grins, "but yes, I want to meet them."

Dani laughs. "Once they get to know you, they are going to love you, Grace. And I'm speaking from personal experience."

"I hope so," Grace says, trying not to immediately envision every worst-case scenario. Dani cups Grace's chin and says reassuringly, "Hey, whatever happens, I'll be there with you."

Grace gives a small nod, her initial anxiety put aside for the time being. Then, she thinks of something else. "So…wait, the dinner and the massage…" The blonde puts two and two together. "Dani Ramos, were you trying to _bribe_ me into attending your family's Christmas gathering?" she teases.

Dani smiles coyly, "Maybe I was…or maybe I just like showering my girlfriend with love."

"Speaking of showers, can I use yours? If I stay in this fucking tub one more minute, my limbs are going to go completely numb."

Dani laughs before pulling Grace out of the small bathtub and into the adjacent shower.

With the hot water running and their emotions on a high, Grace and Dani would eventually find themselves getting _very_ distracted in the shower and end the night with a late, but not any less delicious, dinner of pozole and enchiladas.

**Author's Note:**

> this first part is a partial prompt fill for tumblr user jellylikekelly who asked: "just some grace/dani tubby time. no apocalypse. just some au domestic tubby time"
> 
> hope this is okay! i thought i'd incorporate it into a bigger thing
> 
> the dishes mentioned in this fic if anyone's curious:  
> https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a55758/crock-pot-mexican-posole-recipe/  
> https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a22108203/easy-shrimp-enchiladas-recipe/
> 
> if you like it, let me know! whether as a kudos or a comment, all feedback is welcomed.


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